Nick Cannon to Give Privacy Bill Star Treatment

A pending online privacy bill is set to get the star treatment. America’s Got Talent host Nick Cannon is scheduled to discuss teen Internet safety at a congressional briefing on Wednesday.

Also present at the briefing will be co-sponsors of the Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011, Representatives Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Joe Barton of Texas. The two serve as co-chairs of the Bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus.

If passed, the Do Not Track Kids Act would prohibit operators of websites, or mobile or web apps aimed at children or minors from compiling or disclosing their personal data to third parties for targeted marketing purposes. It would also establish a Marketing Bill of Rights for Teens to ensure that site and app operators “do not subject minors to unfair and deceptive surveillance, data collection, or behavioral profiling.”

The bill gives the FTC the ability to create regulations requiring site and app operators to provide clear and conspicuous explanation of the types of personal data they collect, how it is employed, and if it is disclosed to other parties. It also deals with location data, proposing that site and app operators cannot collect such data from children without parental consent.

At the briefing, Cannon will act as spokesperson for children’s online security firm Safe Communications. The popular TV and radio host, who has over 3 million Twitter followers, could help raise awareness of the privacy legislation and related issues. Online privacy is a hot topic, especially after the White House joined with the ad industry’s self-regulatory privacy coalition and Federal Trade Commission in February to plan for a browser-based do-not-track standard.

Google’s implementation of a controversial privacy policy consolidation, which enables the company to track users across its platforms such as YouTube and Gmail, has also spurred heightened interest in online privacy among the general public.

The congressional briefing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 7, 2012 in the Rayburn House Office Building, Washington D.C. American University professor Kathryn Montgomery is also expected to attend.